Media and
Advertising Law
In a world where technical national borders are losing their significance and the distinction between traditional broadcasting, online services, and electronic publications increasingly blurs, media law has become the essential foundation for economic success. Today, media no longer serve merely to provide information, but are highly complex marketing channels subject to a dense network of regulatory requirements. We help you integrate these requirements – from safeguarding plurability of opinion and the protection of minors, to the design of advertisement – legally compliant into your business model.
The Medienstaatsvertrag (Interstate Media Services Treaty, MStV), provides the modern framework for this converged media landscape. Private providers of linear streaming services require a licensing permit under media law just as traditional radio stations do, if their services are journalistic and editorial designed. At the same time, providers of media platforms, user interfaces, and media intermediaries are assuming a new key role: They are under strict oversight by the state media authorities to ensure non-discrimination and the discoverability of content. This regulation has long since extended to new players such as developers of apps, voice assistants, and smart TVs, who must proactively adapt their products to the transparency requirements of the MStV. The MStV also sets strict guidelines for sponsorship, product placement, virtual advertising, and the protection of minors in the media.
Due to the EU requirements of the Digital Services Act (EU) 2022/2065 (DSA) and the EU Digital Markets Act (EU) 2022/1925 (DMA), the currently applicable MStV is to be converted into and adapted to the Digitaler Medienstaatsvertrag (Digital Interstate Media Services Treaty, DMStV). The reform efforts also aim to introduce regulations for AI-generated content, such as the introduction of marking requirements for deepfakes and transparency obligations.
Social media has become indispensable for reputation management and recruitment at many companies. Yet the use of influencers and viral campaigns is subject to strict legal parameters. In addition to the MStV or the Jugendmedienschutz-Staatsvertrag (JMStV), the Gesetz gegen den unlauteren Wettbewerb (UWG) and the DSA define clear responsibilities and obligations regarding the labeling of advertisements and the dealing with illegal content. We support you in using these channels profitably without risking legal sanctions.
Electronic communication networks are the backbone of digital business models, whose regulation has been fundamentally reformed by the Telekommunikationsgesetz (German Telecommunications Act, TKG) and the Digitale-Dienste-Gesetz (DDG). With the replacement of the Telemediengesetz (Telemedia Act, TMG) in May 2024 by the DDG and the accompanying regulations of the Gesetz über den Datenschutz und den Schutz der Privatsphäre in der Telekommunikation und bei digitalen Diensten (Act on Data Protection and the Protection of Privacy in Telecommunications and Digital Services, TDDDG) for the protection of privacy, the course has been set for digital services. This includes not only modernized legal notice requirements but also the elimination of the “ancillary cost privilege” for cable fees, which has fundamentally changed competition in the areas of broadband networks and TV service provision.
Our advisory services also address the critical issue of liability for platform operators and providers. While the original liability exemption under Directive 2000/31/EC on electronic commerce (e-Commerce Directive) was carried over into the DSA, the due diligence obligations have become more stringent. Hosting services must respond immediately to legal violations under “notice-and-action” procedures to avoid liability. This is particularly true in copyright law. In the area of copyright law particularly, the specific provisions of the Copyright Service Provider Act (UrhDAG) apply, requiring platforms to make proactive licensing efforts and implement automated blocking procedures. We protect you in this complex area where the liability of perpetrators and intermediaries intersects and represent your interests both proactively and in court proceedings.
We support you in all media law matters. Our precise and individual legal advice is based on many years of expertise in media and media business law and on a profound knowledge of the economic interrelationships in the media industry. For many years we have been advising access and host providers, other platform operators or rights holders on liability issues. We also provide expert opinions and position papers on regulatory and liability issues.
Our support includes the acquisition of broadcasting licenses. We provide comprehensive advice on your rights and obligations under the RStV or the MStV and represent your interests vis-á-vis the competent regulatory media authorities.
We also advise you or provide expert opinions on the legal implications of modern forms of advertising such as influencer marketing, targeted advertising or addressable TV. Especially the digital marketing of content and advertising may require a clear positioning towards media regulators, competitors or consumer protection organizations, which we take on for you. In addition, we enforce your rights vis-à-vis regulatory authorities and competitors in and out of court.
We also equip your company for a legally compliant presence on the Internet or social media and advise you on the legality of the content, form and scope of your media presence. In this context, we also enforce existing claims in and out of court or defend against claims raised against you.
Our clients are classic media companies, companies in the film licensing business, radio and telemedia service providers, well-known advertising marketers as well as companies in the ITC industry (software manufacturers, telecommunications companies, cable network operators, internationally operating platform operators). In addition, we also advise large and medium-sized companies that do not come from the classic media or ITC sector, but which, due to their marketing activities (e.g. influencer marketing, social media, sponsoring and large advertising campaigns), need advice on media and advertising law, in particular on questions of advertising law and advertising models.
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